The Devil's Den
A floating lair of sin and vice, The Devil's Den is a partially restored riverboat casino and brothel which is by far the most popular passenger boat in the Gulf of Mexico. A small city, The Devil's Den is an exclusive residence which makes most of its income through the patronage of gambling and prostitution provided by its passengers. History Pre-War What would become the Devil's Den was originally a large riverboat which was a tourist and whale watching boat in Key West, Florida. Made in 2044, the boat was a luxury vessel and at first cost around thirteen thousand dollars for a six-hour fishing/sightseeing/whale watching tour. The boat was known as "The Dancing Dolphin" and was in the employ of the Key West Cruise Boat Union. The Dolphin had several famous celebrities including billionaires, movie stars, media moguls, and at one point the President of the United States visit and take a tour on the boat and by 2077, the fee had been raised to twenty thousand dollars. The War Due to the nature of the vessel which was at sea for twelve hours a day, the boat was in the Gulf of Mexico when the nukes hit, seeing damage from large waves caused by the nuclear apocalypse. The boat endured and eventually moored back in its ravaged port of Key West which while not directly hit by nuclear weapons, was devastated by nuclear fallout and winds blowing irradiated sand and spores which would ravage the island and kill the boat's inhabitants in the mostly untouched Key West Harbor. Post-War With the death of the crew, the Dancing Dolphin remained floating and corroding in Key West Harbor for a little over a century until it was discovered by the deadbeat pirate and gambler, Tommy Mason who after losing a fortune he borrowed from a wealthy pirate captain in the Orange Bowl, stole a boat and fled south. After finding the boat, Mason decided to use it as a hiding place for two years and worked on restoring the vessel, a gifted machinist. Mason managed to fix the engine and jury rig the generator to provide partial power to the elaborate lighting on the riverboat. By 2210, the boat was in an operating position and Mason, following his old antics took a large loan from a local pirate in Key West to refurbish and create the Devil's Den. A lover of luxury, Mason hired local carpenters in Key West to replace the aging woodwork and create multiple gaming tables. Within a year, a riverboat casino with an open-air gaming deck, a strip club, a bar, an armory, and eight-passenger cabins which had four bunk beds per room which made each cabin capable of holding eight passengers. In addition, crew cots were made which allowed another forty people to less comfortably inhabit the ship and serve as crewmen. On October 1st, 2210 the riverboat, named "The Devil's Den" by Mason set sail with a full sixty-four passengers en route to Boss Town. The voyage was successful, and as years passed, The Devil's Den became one of the larger well-known transport boats in the Gulf of Mexico. Stops included the Orange Bowl, Boss Town, New Orleans, and the Corpse Coast. Mason ran a tight ship for thirty years until his past caught up with him. In 2240, a bounty hunter looking for Mason paid the four hundred cap ticket fee and snuck a pocket pistol past security. He found Mason and challenged him to a duel for control of the ship, still arrogant and cocky as ever Mason accepted the challenge and was gunned down an hour later by the bounty hunter, Bob Cooper. Cooper took control of the ship and sailed it back to the Orange Bowl where he received the bounty and took a loan to further increase the value of the ship. The loan was taken from Tony Orwell, a rich pirate kaptain who had made his fortune through inflation of the bottle cap. Since Orwell put out the loan and it was paid back, Cooper has continued to sail aboard the ship as its captain. No weapons are allowed aboard, and those who violate this rule are normally sold as slaves. To get on the ship, one must pay five hundred caps as a ticket fee. Through the gambling, prostitution, and ticket revenues The Devil's Den has become arguably the most prosperous passenger boat in the Gulf of Mexico. Economy Despite the fact that they are nothing but a small riverboat and unlike large ship cities like The Lexxx, the workers aboard the Devil's Den insist on calling themselves a town and have an economy that rivals most small towns. Entertainment and Gaming Undeniably the largest and most renowned income of the Devil's Den is its gambling and entertainment "industry". The Devil's Den offers gambling on its open-air top deck. The gamblers there are regularly cheated out of caps by the dealers. For playing, the boat provides complimentary cocktails which are a mix of spiced rum, ice, sugar, water, and specially distilled orange-flavored brandy. The cocktails, known as 'The Orange Bowl Orgy' are served by fully nude prostitutes to the gamblers who if they do not accept the drink by desire, are normally charmed into drinking by the waitress. Upon drinking the mixture, the gamblers are quickly intoxicated and willing to bet most of their caps on the games, assuming the concoction does not kill them. The gambling offered is wide and varied, and a full twenty different gambling tables are offered with a variety of games. The games and tables are: *Blackjack - Five tables offer Blackjack to patrons. Each table has room for four contestants, and the buy-in fee is one hundred caps. *Texas Hold 'Em Poker - Three tables offer Texas Hold 'Em with each table holding up to four people. Buy in is two hundred and fifty caps and blinds start at twenty-five caps. *Riverjack - Two tables offer a unique blackjack variant known as riverjack. The point of the game is similar to blackjack. However, black cards add numbers, and red cards subtract. For example, if a player had a black four and got a red five their new total would be a negative one. If a player gets a negative twenty-one or a positive twenty-one they win. Buy-in fee is one hundred caps and four players may play per table. *Roulette - Five tables offer highly lucrative roulette with three people being able to play at each table and the buy-in fee being fifty caps. *Baccarat - One table offers baccarat for high rollers aboard the Devil's Den. Five players at the table and the buy-in fee is a large five hundred caps. The table is one of the baccarat tables in the Gulf and gamblers from New Orleans to the Orange Bowl will buy a ticket to play in the prestigious monthly baccarat tournament. *Liars Dice - Three tables offer liars dice and up to four people may play per table. The buy-in fee is seventy-five caps. *Strip Poker - One table offers a game of strip poker where up to four may play. The variant is Caribbean Stud, and the gamblers bet on the article of clothing they wish a prostitute to take off. Whoever can get their prostitute naked first is declared the winner and gets a free night of sex with her. The buy-in fee is three hundred caps, and blinds start at thirty caps. After gambling is the strip club below the open air top deck. Serving a plethora of drinks and showing off around a dozen attractive prostitutes bought from slave traders. The club doubles as a brothel and anyone who has the two hundred cap fee may feed any kind of sexual fetish they hold with the hookers, as long as they live anything goes. Protection Revenue Another large source of revenue is protection. The Devil's Den is owned and operated by Bob Cooper, an agent of infamous pirate captain, Tony Orwell. Attacking the ship would be declaring war on Orwell and his small fleet, in addition, the arsenal boasted by the security crew is enough to ward off any offenders. As such many travelers such as rafters, traders, and members of the Caribbean Exploration Commission will tie their smaller boats to The Devil's Den and pay large sums to do so. In exchange, the boats are promised protection from possible hostile threats. Category:Places Category:Sites